2016-01-06 - The dumbing down of running

Have you noticed the proliferation of articles and books with topics like, "Run less, run faster", "Train only 3 days a week and finish a marathon", or "Run your best race on only 20 miles per week"? I don't get it. It seems like there is a lot of dumbing and numbing down in all areas of our lives including passions. I promise, it won't happen in this blog! My advice for 2016, make a resolution to put in the highest running mileage year of your life and put in the longest single run you have ever done! Perhaps put in your most mileage you ever have while training for a specific race. Plan for it, put it on the calendar and make it happen. You'll be faster, fitter and will get the kind of satisfaction not found with some wimpy attempt to just get by. The middle of the road will get you run over. Yikes!

Get out the door and hammer!

Randy Step, obsessed with running with no regrets!

PS: With your resolution to put in your highest running mileage of the year, get into gear with a couple of FUN 5K's. You won't want to miss the Super 5K on February 7th, 2016. Earn your spot on the couch before the big game! Still need more fun after that? What could be better than a Friday night keg party with a 5K warmup? Nothing! Be there May 6th at the Hightail to Ale.

PS: After you're all warmed up, plan the rest of your running year with RF Events! Our calendar will get you out the door all year long... Plus you'll get to spend quality time with the crew from RF Events.. fun!

2015-12-30 - Everybody dies, not everybody lives

I've heard that running ... like red wine, may not make us live longer. Actually, as I think about it, if I didn't run it might feel like life is dragging on forever, you get the point. I do get a kick out of sound bite news stories like the one I heard this week stating that sad people live just as long as happy people, perhaps a relief to somebody but again, it seems even more sad to me. To wind up what is, perhaps an almost pointless rambling of a nut-job runner, my favorite line is from my dear old dad, God rest his soul. As I returned from a long hard run and was sitting on the back step, looking wasted, he walked by and said, "You may not live to be 100, but it will sure seem like it!"

Run long, live fast and fun,

Randy Step, who should stop right here.

PS: Sign up for the Hightail to Ale 5K before January 1 to SAVE $5! A friday night keg party with a 5K warm up, May 6, 2016! Sign up for the entire Thirsty 3 Series and save a total of $10! CHEERS!
 
PS: Hey Hippies, Join us September 9, 10 and 11 in 2016 for 3 days of peace, music and running! Registration for Run Woodstock is NOW OPEN! A distance for everybody. Check it out here!

2015-12-23 - We've planned your run schedule

I find the holiday week a good time to plan the next running year and enter some events that will motivate us to train through winter, getting us out the door and keeping our fitness level "somewhat "intact.  
OK, now a shameless plug... I am so proud of the crew here at RF Events and all they do to create races that are worthy of the many hard miles you put into your training, not to mention the hard earned discretionary cash you put down to enter. We work hard and pride ourselves on putting on amazing events like no others ...With sane entry fees! Yes, it's a labor of love, we run, we understand and we hope it shows.

A great compliment we hear "I can enter any of your events and never worry about making a bad choice, always beyond my expectations."

Make our 2016 Race Calendar your event calendar for 2016, you won't be disappointed. We will kick off the running year with the Super 5K on February 7th and the fitness fun goes on all year from there!

We look forward to running and partying with you in 2016!

Randy, Dawn, Mandy, Anna, Joanna, Gary, Ted, Jodi, Amy, Nancy, Dan and all our volunteer family!

2013-12-16 - Run Proud!

I saw a FB headline today about a 13.1 sticker on a car, "I don't give a sh-t!" I had to respond with, "Well I do!" Seriously, I smile when I know I'm around a kindred soul, someone who understands my running world, a small sticker tells a big story. A story of dedication, determination, a story about a goal oriented individual, a positive role model. I find it a refreshing sticker, not politics, religion or controversial subject ... Or so I thought!

Run proud and loud,

Randy Step, an admitted obsessed runner with Oval stickers on my hippie van to prove it!

PS: Picking a series to register for is a great way to head into the new year with some motivation! We've got 3 great series to keep you moving into the new year. Check out the Serious Series, The Thirsty 3 Series, and the T-Rex Tri Series! We can't wait to cheer you on in 2016.

PS: Hey Hippies, MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Run Woodstock CAMPING AND RACE REGISTRATION will open on December 28, 2015. PEACE!

2015-12-09 - This is not a dress rehearsal

I am a fan of the line: "this is not a dress rehearsal." Every day is precious as I was reminded this year when I lost two, way too young friends, to sudden illness and death. Yes, we may be training for a goal event, saving money for some future purchase or working on some elaborate long term project ... But this stuff all depends on what tomorrow brings. We know that it's important that we take time each day and live in the moment, it takes effort, but the effort is always rewarded. Our run fits this live in the moment requirement pretty well. That said, no matter how passionate we are about our daily run, it still takes an effort to leave all those projects behind and get ourselves out the door each day. When we finish our run, we realize how important the run was to our lives and we are always happy we ran. So why in the heck don't we have that same feeling and realization as we contemplate getting out for our run? We do get out the door and we do run ... but not often is it easy. This continues to baffle me, but it is what it is.

Get out and run,

Randy Step, an admitted obsessed runner ... who still needs a reminder of why.

PS: The Thirsty 3 Series is back and better than ever for 2016! The third year of the Thirsty 3 is something you won't want to miss! Visit thethirsty3.com for all the details!

PS: Get your planners out! The RF Events 2016 calendar is LIVE.. and what's more? Registration for the T-Rex Triathlon Series and Run Woodstock will open THIS MONTH!

2015-12-02 - Smug self-satisfaction

We've been spoiled by a mild November that has not helped us adapt to cold days to come. This will make it a bit harder to get out the door. I find it helps to overdress to reduce the cold slap in the face that might have kept us inside. Wearing a light pack allows us to shed layers and also to put them back on if needed, this can relieve our internal thermostat issues and make the run a lot less intimidating. Yes, the winter laundry pile can get ugly, dang. All that said, a successful, brutal winter run can build our self-esteem like no other. We will need to control our desire to give others the smug look of self-satisfaction as we plow on ... The frost build-up on our face and hat should suffice!

The worse the better, bring it on,

Randy Step, an admitted obsessed runner ... Who talks a big game, at least to myself until the door is closed behind me and I'm out there.

PS: Ease up and lick your wounds, the serious run season is over. Perhaps enter the Holiday Hustle 5K and 1 Mile, December 12th, then take a silly winter road trip romp in the snow at the Bigfoot 5 or 10K Snowshoe run in Traverse City January 23rd, then party and run on Super Bowl Sunday at the Super 5K February 7th. Just enough commitment to get us out the door this winter so we will be ready to ramp up again for the new season!

2015-11-25 - Thanks & Keep Smiling!

The fitness lifestyle continues to grow in our culture but so does the obesity rate which is over 35% in American adults. So, as we head out for our run we are still part of what is perceived by many to be an oddball minority, those who choose to run and to associate it with fun. For over 30 years I continue to hear the same comments like, I only run to the fridge or when I'm being shot at. When asked about my running I find myself dumbing down my answers about how far I run or the races I enter. My hope is to make our sport less intimidating and more attainable. Yes, some of our athletic accomplishments might inspire others but I think what will help most is for more and more of us to get out there and set the example. When they see we are all shapes and sizes, running and walking, fast and slow, they may eventually get out to join us to find the fun in the run.

Get out there, your run can change the world,

Randy Step, an admitted obsessed runner, trying to smile on my runs, even on the hard days ... At least when someone is looking!

PS: Ease up and lick your wounds, the serious run season is over. Perhaps enter the Holiday Hustle 5K and 1 Mile, December 12th, then take a silly winter road trip romp in the snow at the Bigfoot 5 or 10K Snowshoe run in Traverse City January 23rd, then party and run on Super Bowl Sunday at the Super 5K February 7th. Just enough commitment to get us out the door this winter so we will be ready to ramp up again for the new season!

2015-11-18 - Hire a Runner

Runners have energy, endurance, are self-directed and understand long term goal planning. We take what we learn in training and use these skills in our work and family life. Our daily run and our work bring new challenges every day, we take hills head on and push to the top of each one until we are totally spent, then we dig to discover more within us and go the extra mile. If you want something done, hire a runner! There is also a good chance a runner will have less sick days. That said, you might have to install a shower for maximum efficiency.

Live and work like you run,

Randy Step, an admitted obsessed runner ... Who would hire myself!

PS: Ease up and lick your wounds, the serious run season is over. Perhaps enter the Holiday Hustle 5K and 1 Mile, December 12th, then take a silly winter road trip romp in the snow at the Bigfoot 5 or 10K Snowshoe run in Traverse City January 23rd, then party and run on Super Bowl Sunday at the Super 5K February 7th. Just enough commitment to get us out the door this winter so we will be ready to ramp up again for the new season!

2015-11-12 - Don't let ego ruin your running

I read a FB comment, "Sure glad I got my miles in today before I came down with this awful cold." As runners, this is the mentality that leads to days off due to sickness or pain. A smart comment would be, "I sure wish I had skipped todays run, I might have been able to duck getting sick." Our sport requires us to read our bodies closely looking for clues that tell us when to back off, drop out of a race or train and race hard. We follow schedules, have weekly mileage goals and some of us even share this info on social media, all of this brings pressure to perhaps sneak in just one more mile, often when we know we are pushing the limit, one more mile that might just cost us a month of mileage, dang.

Run smart, forever,

Randy Step, an admitted obsessed runner for over 35 years, who makes less stupid mistakes now, but still lets ego get in the way occasionally ... but less and less! A work in progress.

PS: Ease up and lick your wounds, the serious run season is over. Perhaps enter the Holiday Hustle 5K and 1 Mile, December 12th, then take a silly winter road trip romp in the snow at the Bigfoot 5 or 10K Snowshoe run in Traverse City January 23rd, then party and run on Super Bowl Sunday at the Super 5K February 7th. Just enough commitment to get us out the door this winter so we will be ready to ramp up again for the new season!

2015-11-04 - Run uninhibited!

Runners are creatures of habit. We often run the same routes at the same pace with the same equipment and often with the same mindset for every run. Habits can add to our consistency but they can also limit our enjoyment of the sport in ways we will never know, until we break out of our comfortable ways. One habit I've broken is running past interesting stuff like great architecture or natural wonders, without stopping to really check them out. I was running every run like a race where the clock never stops, worried about recording my pace per mile or whatever. I now stop, perhaps post to social media or just mentally take in the pearls that now make each run more special and valuable to me.  And yes, it sure makes my pace look bad on the run application on my phone and I'm kind of proud of myself for no longer caring ... And understanding that nobody else does either, duh.

 

Look for more in every run,

 

Randy Step, an admitted obsessed runner who is enjoying new found freedom from stuff that only existed in my mind anyway. 

PS: Join me in Traverse city on November 14th for what is sure to be a cold and challenging run through the majestic beauty of the north woods. Bring it on. http://runvasa.com/